The present invention relates to latching mechanisms for drawers. Particularly, the invention relates to a latching mechanism for plastic drawers carried in a lightweight plastic stackable drawer cabinet structure.
Storage systems are known which include stackable drawer cabinet structures each slidably supporting a drawer. Such arrangements typically comprise plastic cabinets and plastic drawers which are advantageously inexpensively manufactured, durable and lightweight. Drawer cabinets and drawers of varying depth can be selected for customized or consumer-selected stacked arrangements of drawer sizes.
With such arrangements, it is known to provide each individual drawer with a latching arrangement to ensure that once the individual drawer is closed to the respective drawer cabinet, the drawer is latched closed, and prevented from inadvertently opening due to being jostled, or overfilled, or the cabinet being slightly tipped. The use of latches ensures a neat storage system for storing household articles.
One such system utilizes a latch element having spring arms integrally formed therewith. The latch element is captured in a latch cover, the latch cover being attached to the front wall of the drawer. The latch element is spring biased to an elevated position to engage a latch receiving element of the drawer cabinet. The drawer-and-latch system thus utilizes at least three separate pieces: the drawer, the latch element and the cover.
Although such known drawer systems can provide satisfactory results, the present inventors have recognized the desirability of providing a drawer system with a latching mechanism which is, among other things, more cost effectively manufactured.
The present invention provides a drawer latching system that is cost effectively manufactured, is durable, and can be disassembled and reassembled easily for replacement or cleaning. The latching system is effectively used for drawers that are slidably carried by stackable drawer cabinets.
The present invention provides a latch arrangement for a drawer that includes a latch mechanism having a latch element, and a latch mechanism-receiving structure formed as part of the drawer. The structure includes an integral spring element for biasing the latch mechanism upwardly. The latch mechanism and the drawer have cooperating, snap-engageable retaining features that allow the latch mechanism to move over a vertical range of movement but retain the latch mechanism on the structure. The structure and the remaining portions of the drawer can be molded as a unitary plastic part. The latch mechanism can be molded as a second unitary plastic part.
According to one embodiment of the present invention, a drawer latching mechanism includes a latch body which incorporates a latch element, latch mechanism retaining tabs, a finger-actuatable surface and a guiding structure, all as a single unitary piece. The invention provides a drawer structure which includes a tab receiving structure for engagement of the latch mechanism retaining tabs of the latch body, retaining the latch body onto the drawer structure but allowing the latch body to slide on the drawer structure. The drawer structure further includes spring elements which bias the latch body toward an elevated position on the drawer structure and are resiliently deflected by spring actuation elements of the latch body, when the latch body is moved to a depressed, latch-disengaged position. The spring actuation elements engage the spring elements of the drawer structure to resiliently bias the latch body toward its elevated position. The spring actuation elements also capture a front wall of the drawer structure between a front wall of the latch body and the spring actuation elements to guide a vertical sliding movement of said latch body from the elevated position to the lowered position of the latch element.
Above the drawer latching mechanism, the cabinet that carries the drawer provides an overlying front frame portion or other structure adjacent to a latch-receiving recess that is configured to receive the latch element to latch the drawer in its closed position. Accordingly, the latch element of the latch body includes a downwardly inclined face toward the front frame portion such that the downwardly inclined face, when pushed against the front frame portion during closing of the drawer to the drawer cabinet, forces the latch body to its lowered position. Once the latch element passes by the front wall structure during closing of the drawer, the latch element will rebound with the latch body to its elevated position, the latch element extending into the recess. The latch element includes a vertical latch face which abuts the front frame portion when the latch element is inserted into the recess, to prevent opening of the drawer. Once latched, the latched body must be manually depressed downwardly, such as by using a finger recess exposed on a front side of the latch body as a pushing point, to disengage the latch element from the recess.
The present invention latching mechanism is cost effectively manufactured in that it is effectively only one additional piece aside from the molded drawer structure. The drawer structure provides the mounting arrangement and the resilient elements for complete attachment and operation of the latch body. No intervening latch carrying plate attached to the drawer is needed. The drawer structure can be molded of a single piece with remaining portions of the drawer, and the latching mechanism can also be molded of a single piece, reducing material costs and simplifying the assembly of the drawer latching system.
The latch body can be easily removed from the drawer structure for cleaning or replacement by delatching the tabs from the slots by a pushing force from inside the drawer. The latch body can then be reinstalled simply by vertically pressing the latch body into the drawer structure until the tab members snap-lock into the guiding slots of the drawer structure.
Numerous other advantages and features of the present invention will be become readily apparent from the following detailed description of the invention and the embodiments thereof, from the claims and from the accompanying drawings.